22-04-2025
Call to legal professionals to focus on fourth generation human rights
Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission V. Ramasubramanian has called upon legal professionals to focus on issues surrounding fourth generation human rights.
Delivering the 19th Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture at School of Law, SASTRA, deemed to be a university, here on Tuesday, April 22, the former Supreme Court Judge said the impact of science and technology in the evolving fourth generation human rights was a subject of study that legal professionals had to focus.
He also outlined the somatic and digital rights as the two fourth generation rights categories influenced by scientific and technological developments. Citing cases from the Federal Court of USA and Queen's Court in UK, he differentiated the pursuit of truth and justice in science and technology and human rights respectively.
Striking a balance between both, he spoke on how science impacted administration of criminal justice, how science and technology development created new rights and how it also adversely affected existing rights. There was also the possibility of old rights being impacted along with old values.
He advised the young students of law to approach the subject with nuanced balance and make informed decisions as there was no course correction for a wrong decision at the final stage of justice as it was possible in science, according to a SASTRA release.
